Sony XAV 9500 ES installed yesterday

I had a Sony XAV 9500 EX installed yesterday and so far I am digging it. Here are some sporadic initial thoughts on it.

I ended up having it installed by an audio guy from the PHX area and I am glad I did. He met me at a truck stop at the midway point between us and had it all pre-wired and ready to plug and play. He did it so much more efficiently than I could have and the total cost was still less than I could have bought everything for.

First, this thing is HUGE compared to the factory screen. It has a matt finish on the face and a pretty simplistic design and interface. It boots up quickly and has all the features I need and then some. I had the XM radio module installed along with it and the Maestro interface. It has three camera inputs that I can view anytime. The backup cam is the default and I am adding a cam for my cargo trailer.

I am mostly using it with Android Auto and have the choice of Google Maps or Waze for navigation. The larger screen will really help me there for vacation trips with my wife. I absolutely hated the factory NAV on the Tundra.

Another cool feature is the ability to view the truck's gauges in real time. I can view the trans temp, battery, tire pressure, and other info at the touch of a button.

This thing is built for audio though and has so many settings and adjustments for audio. I am not taking advantage of those now, but when I want to expand the system and add speakers, an amp, and a sub it will help those perform well. I like the simple interface as this thing is meant to work and not just look nice.